Fraley: Rangers show signs of last year's collapse ahead of crucial series

3/26

G.J. McCarthy/Staff Photographer

Texas Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar (right) flips the ball to second baseman Ian Kinsler after scooping up a hit by Minnesota Twins first baseman Chris Colabello on a double play during the second inning of Texas' 4-2 loss Sunday, September 1, 2013 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

They open a three-game series at Oakland on Monday afternoon with their lead in the American League West dangling by a thread and their inconsistent offense on the fritz again. Sound familiar?

A year ago, the Rangers took a two-game lead into Oakland and lost the final three regular-season games. The lead is down to one game after a 4-2 loss to Minnesota on Sunday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, but there is not the same sense of finality.

The Rangers will have 23 more games after this series. That includes three games at home against the Athletics on Sept. 13-15.

“It’s not do-or-die,” manager Ron Washington said. “It doesn’t matter what happens, nothing will be settled. Yes, you want to go in there and play well. And I think we will. We’ll be ready to play.”

For that to happen, the offense must find itself again. Two is becoming the official number for this offense, as in two runs per game.

In the last 10 days, the Rangers pounded a pair of All-Star starters, Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, only to go silent.

After beating Sale, the Rangers lost the next two games to the last-place White Sox, scoring only two runs in each game.

After roasting Hernandez for a career-high nine runs on Wednesday, the Rangers scored only two runs in each of the three games against the Twins and lost the series to a sub-.500 club. The Twins used a pair of starters with ERAs of more than 5.00, right-handers Liam Hendriks and Mike Pelfrey.

“We didn’t swing the bat the way we can,” Adrian Beltre said. “The bottom line is we didn’t execute. We know that we are better than what we showed the last few games. Hopefully, [Monday] will start better offense and more consistent baseball.”

Washington said: “I wish I could explain it” when asked what has caused the offensive inconsistencies. Here are two theories:

The Revenge of Josh Hamilton: During his time with the Rangers, Hamilton had well-chronicled problems during day games. Hamilton is gone, but the Rangers are going through the day-game blues.

Even with the explosion against Hernandez, the Rangers are averaging only 3.57 runs in day games. Only Houston, at 3.05 runs, has done worse.

This is more than a small sample. The Rangers have played 37 day games, going 18-19. The two series against Oakland will include four day games.

Leonys Martin is wearing down: Even with a game-winning hit Saturday, this has been a tough stretch for Martin. In his last nine games, Martin is hitting .139 with a .238 on-base percentage. If the lead-off hitter is not getting on base, the offense will go through fits and starts.

“I’m not 100 percent now,” Martin said of his swing. “I know I have to get better. I will.”

The offensive struggles increase the Rangers’ dependency upon pitching.

The Rangers’ starters against Oakland — left-handers Derek Holland and Martin Perez and right-hander Yu Darvish — are a combined 10-5 with a 3.25 ERA since the All-Star break. The Rangers bullpen continues at a high pace while Oakland’s bullpen has hit a rough spot. The Athletics have six blown saves in the last 12 chances and a bullpen ERA of 4.88 in the last 23 games.

If anyone should be haunted by the memories of last year’s collapse, it is Holland, who will start the opener. He appeared in relief in game No. 162 and took the loss as the victim of a dropped fly ball by Hamilton.

“I’m not going to put any pressure on myself or treat the game any differently,” Holland said. “We got beat last year. That’s just how it is. We’ve moved past that. We’re ready to write a new chapter.”

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